Mirror image: Magpies recognise their own reflections

Magpies can recognise themselves in a mirror, a surprising new study has shown.

Until recently humans were thought to be uniquely self-aware. Then a host of mammals were found to recognise their own reflections including chimps and orang-utans. There were even reports that dolphins and elephants shared the ability.

However, the latest study found the first evidence that non-mammals can recognise themselves.

Experts believe animals that live in a complex social world may be more likely to recognise themselves and members of the crow family are especially interactive.

Researchers, led by German psychologist Dr Helmut Prior, from the Goethe University in Frankfurt,  used mirrors to see how the black and white birds would react.

They tested five hand-reared magpies by placing yellow and red stickers on the birds in positions where they could only be seen in a mirror.

Faced with their reflection, the magpies became focused on the marks as they tried to reach the stickers with their beaks and claws.

On a number of occasions they succeeded in scratching the stickers off, and only then did the mark-orientated behaviour stop. Black marks that did not show up against the birds' dark feathers did not elicit the same response.

When no mirror was present, the birds took no notice of the coloured marks.

The magpies appeared to be more concerned than chimpanzees about coloured stickers being placed on their bodies.

It may be that from a survival point of view, birds value their feathers more than chimps do their hair, said the scientists.

They pointed out that birds spent about a quarter of their resting time preening.

Magpies are one of the most common birds in the UK and are resident all year round. The scavengers are often villified for their 'arrogant' behaviour and eating other birds eggs. However, recent research said they were not responsible for the steep decline in other songbirds and were actually effective pest destroyers.

The scientists wrote in the on-line journal PLoS Biology: 'Altogether, results show that magpies are capable of understanding that a mirror image belongs to their own body.

'We do not claim that the findings demonstrate a level of self-consciousness or self-reflection typical of humans. The findings do, however, show that magpies respond in the mirror and mark test in a manner so far only clearly found in apes.

'This is a remarkable capability that is at least a pre-requisite of self-recognition and might play a role in perspective taking.'

Self-recognition may be essential for the ability to predict the behaviour of others on one's own experience, said the researchers.

The findings showed that self-recognition may have evolved separately in animals with vastly different brain structures, they added.